The authors have studied the terraces of the Yellow River in the Lanzhou area, the Weihe River in the Baoji area and the Luohe River in the Luochuan area with the magnetostratigraphic method. The results show that the highest terrace of the Yellow River in the Lanzhou area is terrace VI , which was formed at 1. 40 Ma, and the Yellow River in the region appeared at 1. 60 Ma. The highest terrace of the Weihe River in the Baoji area is terrace V, which was formed at 1. 20 Ma B. P. The Weihe River in the area appeared at 1. 40 Ma B. P. The highest terrace of the Luohe River in the Luochuan area is terrace V, which was formed at 1. 00 Ma B. P. The Luohe River in the area appeared at 1. 20 Ma B. P. The uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, uninterrupted oscillation and uplift of the crust and climatic changes have controlled the terrace development of the middle Yellow River drainage system.